Dhoni is class and he will prove it again, says Sourav Ganguly.
Mohammed Shami's last-over hattrick saved India from a mighty scare as they managed to pip Afghanistan by 11 runs to inch closer towards World Cup semi-finals, as brilliant death bowling compensated for an inexplicable batting display on Saturday.
Shami (9.5-1-40-4), playing his first match, not only successfully defended 16 runs off the last over but also dismissed the dangerous Mohammed Nabi (52 off 55 balls), Aftab Alam (0) and Mujeeb ur Rahman (0) off successive deliveries to complete the rare feat.
Afghanistan were bowled out for 213 in pursuit of a manageable 225 run target which at one stage looked gettable after the Indian middle-order flopped in their first World Cup test.
After the match, MS Dhoni was highly criticized by former cricketers and by fans for his 52-ball 28 run innings against the Afghanis.
Sourav Ganguly came out and defended MS Dhoni in an interview.
1. Sourav is with MSD
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Sachin Tendulkar after the match admitted that he was not happy with the way India's middle-order batsmen played against Afghanistan.
Particularly pointing out the partnership between MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav, the 'Master Blaster' said that the duo were too slow in their approach against Afghanistan's spinners. Dhoni made 24 off 36 in that partnership while Jadhav scored 31 off 48 balls which slowed down India's target goal chase.
"I felt slightly disappointed, it could have been much better. I was also not happy with the partnership between Kedar and Dhoni, it was very slow. We batted 34 overs of spin bowling and scored 119 runs. This was one area where we didn't look comfortable at all. There was no positive intent."
When asked to comment on this topic, Sourav Ganguly said, "At the end of the day, MSD is a very good batsman and he will definitely prove that in this year's World Cup 2019 as well despite his sticky form against Afghanistan. Its just one match."
2. Archer can do more
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He was then asked about his views on Team India after the Shikhar Dhawan injury. Sourav looked very enthusiastic and said, " Against Pakistan, KL Rahul batted brilliantly. Rohit Sharma was class as well. India have a balanced line-up and this will help them go a long way."
When asked about the reason why Rabada has failed to perform too well at the World Cup, Sourav said, "The entire South African side has been batting terribly at this year's World Cup. If the batsmen performed, Rabada's impact in this year's World Cup would have been totally different and much more effective.
3. Shami also loves MSD
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Other team India players like Mohammed Shami also came out after the game to discuss what Dhoni told him just moments before he took those very important wickets and expressed MSD's importance for the national side.
Mohammed Shami had no second thoughts about bowling a yorker for a hat-trick delivery after Mahendra Singh Dhoni advised the same during India's thrilling World Cup encounter against Afghanistan in Southampton.
Shami is the second Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in World Cup after Chetan Sharma's feat against New Zealand in the 1987 edition. This is the 10th hat-trick in history of 50-over World Cup.
"The plan was simple. To bowl a yorker and even Mahi bhai suggested that. He said, 'Don't change anything now as you have a great chance of getting a hat-trick. It's a rare opportunity and you need to do the same thing. So I did what exactly I was told," Shami told reporters after returning with figures of 4 for 40.
